Maybe We Could Be Friends
by thescissoring
Summary: Tori and Jade are becoming closer. They're even friends, now, though that friendship seems to be evolving into something else entirely. A set of one shots, but each takes place after the one before it. Was friendship at first but now it's romantic. Rating subject to change.
1. Beginning

**These drabbles are being written for a thirty day drabble challenge, so each chapter is based on a word prompt. Enjoy~**

* * *

"Need a ride?" Tori's head spun around at the sound of Jade's voice. It was late, and they were some of the last to leave Hollywood Arts after a play they had both been in.

"Me?" asked Tori, wrinkling her brow, certain that Jade couldn't have been speaking to her.

"Who else?" Jade slung her bag over her shoulder. "Look, I'm not going to wait around all night for you to answer. Do you want a ride home or not?"

"Well I was going to call Trina-"

Jade rolled her eyes.

"Tori. Answer the question."

Tori chewed her bottom lip momentarily.

"Sure."

Jade smirked and raised an eyebrow, then led Tori to her car.

"Well get in," Jade ordered from the driver's seat when she saw Tori was still standing outside the car uncertainly.

"The last time you and I were in a car together, it ended up like some scene out of a horror movie." Tori did not want a repeat of that day.

Jade's lips twitched. She was never actually going to do anything bad to Tori that day, she only wanted to freak her out. She put her hands up in some sort of surrender.

"No funny business this time, I promise."

"... Alright," Tori said after a few moments of hesitation. She scrambled awkwardly into the large truck, earning an eye roll from Jade at her lack of elegance.

"You ready?" inquired Jade, and Tori nodded, eager to get home.

They rode in silence for a few minutes, but that just made Tori uneasy. She didn't like quiet Jade too much. A quiet Jade was an evil-plan-plotting Jade. So Tori did the first thing she could think of, and complimented her.

"You were really good tonight, you know. Even better than in rehearsals." Tori wasn't lying when she said that. She truly had admired Jade's performance of a evil witch turned good by the example of kind strangers.

Jade glanced at Tori briefly.

"Thanks..."

The compliment had stabbed Jade right in the chest. She hated when Tori was nice to her. It made it harder to be horrible to her. Jade tried to return the compliment, tried to find the words to say something nice. They were stuck in her throat, choking her, so she swallowed them down and kept silent.

When Jade didn't say anything else, Tori sighed and gathered her things, her house just yards away.

"Thanks for the ride, Jade," Tori said with a small smile, and climbed out of the truck.

Jade could feel the words bubbling up in her mouth again, and before she could stop herself, she got Tori's attention.

"Tori... Wait."

Tori looked at her expectantly.

"You did really well tonight, too." And then she did something so rare, Tori almost couldn't believe it had happened. Jade smiled at her. Not a smirk or a condescending curl of her lips, but a real, genuine smile.

Tori beamed.

"Thanks Jade. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah yeah. Bye, Vega."

Tori closed the door and walked up to her front door, noticing that Jade waited until she was inside to pull out of the driveway. She knew, of course, that just because Jade had been nice to her didn't mean she had completely turned over a new leaf, but she couldn't help but feel like it was the beginning of something different.


	2. Accusation

"Well, you look angry," Jade said smugly, her lips curling into a smirk.

"You cut my hair!" Tori bellowed, holding up a strand of her hair that was several inches shorter than the rest.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jade said, returning her attention to the salad in front of her. Tori sat down across from Jade at the lunch table, scowling.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about, Jade West. You were sitting behind me in English class and cut my hair!"

"I am truly hurt that you think I would do such a terrible thing-"

"Just admit it," Tori growled.

"I don't like being accused of things, Tori. Maybe you should be quiet now."

Tori sighed and popped the lid off of her own salad. She stabbed at the lettuce angrily, finally throwing down her fork and looking Jade square in the eye.

"What do you even want my hair for anyway?"

Jade simply smiled, standing up and beginning to walk away.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

* * *

**Really short. Could have been better.**


	3. Restless

Jade pulled her comforter up over her head, and curled herself into a tight ball. She couldn't sleep; guilt pooled in the pit of her stomach, leaving her restless and unable to relax. She had tripped Tori at school earlier that day as she walked around the corner. Tori had fallen hard, with a sickening crunch. Her wrist had broken, and she'd had to be taken to the hospital.

She sat up in bed, running her fingers over the blankets. She hadn't meant to hurt Tori, really she hadn't. The worst she had thought would happen was that Tori would be embarrassed. But when she had heard Tori moan in pain, and seen the tears welling up in her eyes, Jade ran away, finding refuge in a storage closet for the last hour of the day.

Jade knew she had to do something to make things right, so she climbed out of bed and dressed, grabbing her car keys off of her dresser as she left her bedroom.

There was no plan, she realized as she drove, as to what she would do when she arrived at Tori's house, but she was an actress. Improv was something she was good at. She would think of something.

A quick look at the clock on her dashboard told her that it was nearly four in the morning, but she couldn't turn back now, she was just one street away from her destination.

Once on Tori's doorstep, Jade pulled out her cellphone. Tori answered on the third ring.

"Hello?" Her voice was thick with sleep, and Jade felt guilty all over again.

"It's Jade," she said, her voice uncharacteristically soft. "I'm outside..."

"Come to finish the job?" Tori snapped.

"Tori... Please." She heard Tori sigh in defeat through the phone.

"I'll be down in a minute." Tori hung up the phone, clumsily pulling on her slippers with one hand. She was torn between two emotions. On one hand, she was annoyed that Jade had picked four in the morning to decide to talk to her, but on the other hand, she was sort of touched. Maybe it was just Tori being hopeful, but Jade had sounded like she wanted to apologize. That was rare.

When Tori opened the door, Jade rushed past her in a blur of black and green. She perched on the arm of the sofa, chewing her thumbnail thoughtfully. Tori sat down on the sofa, curling her legs under her and being careful not to jostle her injured wrist.

"You know, the cushions are more comfortable," Tori said, trying to break the ice, and Jade looked at her as if she was first realizing she wasn't alone. But she listened to what Tori said, moving to sit incredibly close to her.

There was awkward silence for a few minutes, until Jade raised her hand to reach for Tori's cast, causing Tori to flinch almost violently. Jade retracted her hand immediately, but in a moment tried again, and this time Tori stayed still.

Jade ran her fingers delicately over the hard plaster, wincing when it fully hit her what she had done.

"I'm sorry, Tori," she whispered, pulling her hand away once more. She almost couldn't bring herself to meet the other girl's eye, but she forced herself to, hoping she could convince Tori of how truly sorry she was.

"I know," Tori said reassuringly, the fingers of her good hand touching Jade's.

* * *

**Eh?**


	4. Snowflake

"Jaaaade, can I borrow a pair of your scissors?" Tori asked in sing-song voice. She had approached Jade at her locker, a hopeful smile on her lips.

Jade slammed her locker door and looked Tori up and down.

"What for?"

"Well it's almost Christmas time and it never snows here, so I wanted to make some paper snowflakes..."

Jade rolled her eyes.

"That's stupid." Jade started to walk away and Tori called after her.

"Jade, wait! I'll use your least favorite pair!"

Jade was already turning the corner when she yelled, "They're all my favorite."

Tori was crestfallen, shuffling her way to class in defeat.

Later that day, however, when Tori opened her locker to get her things before going home, she found a paper snowflake taped to the inside of the door. She looked around, wondering if who had put it there was still around, catching Jade's eye in the process. Jade just raised an eyebrow and left, leaving Tori on her own to figure out that she was the one who had put it there.

* * *

**Hm.**


	5. Haze

Jade West hated being sick. She hated having a stuffy nose, puffy eyes, and a scratchy throat. But most of all, she hated fevers. They left her burning and sweaty (though she would never admit to the sweat), and unable to decipher real events from scenarios dreamt up in her hazy mind.

Yes, Jade hated being sick with a fiery passion. But there was one thing about this time that made it almost bearable. Tori Vega had taken it upon herself to take care of Jade. After school, she let herself into Jade's house, a container of chicken soup in hand.

"How are you feeling, Jade?" Tori asked, her voice soft and light. Jade just moaned, and Tori took that to mean not very well. She laid a hand on Jade's forehead, frowning when she felt how hot the girl was.

"A little better," Jade lied,sitting up slowly. The truth was that she actually felt worse.  
Tori sat on the edge of Jade's bed.

"I brought you some soup-"

"Why do you have to be so nice to me?" Jade interrupted sharply.

"Um... Because you're my friend. Even if I'm not yours." Tori hung her head, certain she was blushing.

Tori's response had caught Jade off guard, and caused an anxious, sick feeling in her stomach. She didn't treat Tori like a friend at all, while Tori never wanted to let her down. But she did think of Tori as a friend in some ways. When she needed someone to help her fix things with Beck, who had she run to?

Jade took in Tori's dejected expression and did something very out of character. She scooted closer to Tori and without a word pulled her into a tight hug. She would blame it on the fever later.

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**When I get better at capturing the dynamic that Jade and Tori have, I definitely think these chapters will become longer.  
Also, I'd like to say thanks for the few reviews I've gotten! They're appreciated. :)**


	6. Flame

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Tori asked worriedly. Jade had asked for her help burning a box full of things that Beck had given her over years. Tori had tried to talk her out of it, tried to convince her that she would regret it, but Jade wouldn't listen. She had silently taken the can of lighter fluid out of Tori's hands and gone to town.

"Hand me the matches," Jade commanded. Tori obeyed, afraid of what Jade might do to her if she refused.

"Why not just give all this stuff back to Beck?"

"Because, Tori, that wouldn't be any fun." A devious smile spread over Jade's face as she lit a match and flicked it into the box, which ignited with a whoosh.

As soon as the fire was started, Jade wished she could take it back. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and she tried to hold them back, but she cracked. She sank to her knees, and Tori was by her side in an instant. Tori's arms automatically wound themselves around Jade's middle, and to her surprise, Jade didn't resist. She was openly crying now, her head on Tori's shoulder. She knew she would regret letting Tori comfort her in this way, but her embrace was just about the only thing keeping Jade from completely falling apart.

"Jade..." Tori rubbed Jade's back lightly, but not for long, because in moments Jade was pulling herself out of Tori's embrace and off of the ground. She extended a hand to Tori, helping her to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Tori questioned delicately.

"I will be."


	7. Formal

"Good morning class!" Mr. Sikowitz exclaimed loudly, sneaking up behind Robbie and scaring him.

"I have an announcement for those who participated in the production of 'Steamboat Suzy'. Helen was so impressed with your performance that she would like to treat you all to a fancy dinner tomorrow night." He paused, waggling his eyebrows. "That includes the main cast, crew, and understudies... except for you, Jade."

"What? Why not?" Jade demanded, shooting angrily up from her seat.

"Because of your ganky attitude," replied Sikowitz.

Jade sat back down and scowled. She didn't care about the dinner itself (truthfully she probably wouldn't have even gone), but being excluded really pissed her off. She sniffed, adjusting the hem of her skirt.

"Whatever."

Tori bit her lip, stealing a glance at Jade while she wasn't looking. It was true that Jade could be a bit hard to take, but Tori didn't think it was fair to leave her out of things.

Later that day, in the hallway, Tori approached Jade at her locker, all smiles as usual.

"What do you want?" Jade sighed, knowing from past experiences that Tori wouldn't back down anytime soon.

"Do you want to hang out tomorrow night?" The question came out in a rush, as if Tori had been holding her breath. Jade looked her up and down in consideration.

"Oh, so you're not going to that dinner Helen's paying in your honor?"

"It's not in my honor..." Tori shook her head to get back on track.

"Listen, I feel bad that Helen didn't-"

"I don't need your pity, Tori. Go to that stupid dinner." Jade slammed her locker door and began to walk away, but Tori caught her wrist.

"It's not about pity, Jade, I just... want to hang out with you," Tori finished softly, her eyes on the floor.

Jade was about to ask why, but the poor girl in front of her looked uncomfortable enough already.

"Alright, fine. We can hang out," Jade said, acting as if she were doing Tori some huge favor. "Come over at five."

Jade stalked off, leaving Tori alone.

The next evening, Tori was at Jade's door at exactly five o'clock. She raised her hand to knock, but before her hand could make contact with the door it swung open slowly. It was dark inside, as far as Tori could tell. She took a shaky breath and stepped inside, letting her eyes adjust to the dim lighting.

The door slammed loudly and Jade jumped out from behind behind it. She pounced on Tori, knocking her to the ground and straddling her. Tori screamed, swatting at Jade's hands around her shoulders until she realized who was on top of her.

"Jade! What the hell are you doing?"

Jade cackled, struggling to her feet. She flicked on the lights and Tori scowled.

"That... was not funny!" Tori exclaimed breathlessly, a hand over her chest.

"It was genius," Jade replied, wiping her eyes.

"Why would you do that?" Tori scrambled to her feet, straightening her top and smoothing her hair.

"Because you were here." Jade smirked. "Why do you want to hang out with me so badly anyway?"

The question caught Tori off guard, and she stammered out an answer.

"I just... I don't know..." She bit her lip.

"This was your idea. You better think of something."

"Um..."

The truth was that Tori hadn't really thought about what they would do. She hadn't expected Jade to say yes.

"We're not going to sit around and laugh, and paint each other's nails-"

"I want to apologize," Tori blurted out, surprising Jade. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"For what?"

"Kissing Beck my second day at Hollywood Arts. I shouldn't have done that. But you already hated me, and I guess I wanted to give you something to hate me for, so it wouldn't bother me so much."

Jade had almost forgotten about that kiss, and being reminded of it didn't anger her like she thought it should.

Perhaps it was because she and Beck were broken up. She wasn't sure. She studied Tori, who was looking up at her shyly.

"Is that why you wanted to hang out tonight? To apologize for something that I'd forgotten about? You could have pissed me off all over again," Jade said, her voice dripping with malice, stepping closer to Tori, who began to back away.

"Um, I just felt like it was something I should apologize for, and maybe you would hate me so much."

Jade stopped moving abruptly, her expression exasperated.

"Jesus, Tori, get over yourself!" That was it. Something inside of her snapped. She wrapped her arms around her middle, thinking carefully of what to say next.

"I've never hated you," she said softly after a few moments. "Do you think it was easy for me to see you standing there kissing my boyfriend? It's not even like you were acting. You did it because you wanted to. And I thought if Beck could kiss you that easily, he could leave me for you that easily, too."

"But-" Jade held up a hand to stop Tori from talking.

"And then he didn't leave me for you, and you were so nice to me, but I couldn't stop being awful to you, because it was easier."

Jade sighed and looked Tori in the eye. She lightly placed a cold hand on Tori's arm, but she retracted moments later, turning away from Tori, kicking herself for doing the exact opposite of what she said she wouldn't. But it didn't matter anymore.

"Jade..."

"Maybe we could be friends, Tori." Jade turned again. "We could be friends, but it would be the weirdest fucking friendship..."

Tori smiled, pulling Jade into a tight hug.

"We'll make it work."

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**Eh? This is the longest one so far, and there's been a sort of ~resolution~ between the two of them. And I think towards the end it might be a little OOC, but what do I know. **

**Thanks everyone who has read, reviewed and favorited! It means a lot to me.**


	8. Companion

Tori stood at her locker, eying Jade (who looked even more solemn than usual) carefully. Earlier that morning, Cat had run up to Tori, telling her that Jade's dog, Bandit, had died the night before, and to try not to upset Jade further. Tori, of course, was devastated on Jade's behalf. She thought hard of what she should say to Jade, or if she should say anything at all. In the end, her need to show Jade that she was there for her won over the idea of leaving things alone. She walked quietly up to Jade, whose face was hidden behind her locker door.

"Jade?" She jumped slightly at the sound of her name, having been deep in thought.

"What do you want?" Jade snapped, feeling guilty as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She and Tori had reached an understanding weeks ago, that they would try to be friends. Well, it was more that Jade would try to be more of a friend to Tori than anything else. She relaxed, not wanting to push Tori away.

Tori hesitated before speaking. Maybe she was making a mistake.

"I'm sorry about Bandit," she said quietly, resting a hand on Jade's forearm. "I know how much you loved him."

Jade gave a small, sad smile and shook Tori's hand off of her arm, but then did something Tori hadn't expected. She began to cry, but quickly wiped her eyes, dragging Tori once again into the janitor's closet. The door slammed shut behind them and Jade rested against it, sliding onto the floor. Tori sat beside her, her hand once again on Jade's arm.

"I loved him a lot," Jade said, turning away from Tori to hide the tears on her face.

"I know."

"I told him everything... since I was little he's been keeping my secrets... It's so dumb," she said, chastising herself for becoming so emotional in front of Tori. She briefly wondered why she felt comfortable enough to lose her grip on her feelings, but she realized that it was because she knew Tori actually cared.

"It's not dumb," Tori said softly, rubbing Jade's back in small circles. "He was your friend. And it hurts when you lose a friend." She heard the bell ring out in the hallway, but Jade didn't move, so neither did she.

Jade wiped her eyes and sniffled, pulling herself back together and retreating until she was once again behind the emotional walls she'd built for herself.

"It doesn't matter," she said, standing up and opening the door. "He was just a dog." She headed for class, leaving Tori on the floor.

Later that day, after school had ended and she hadn't spoken to Jade a second time, Tori found herself at the pet store. Trina had been meant to be driving home, but decided she would rather go shopping. Tori was bored waiting for Trina in the shoe store, so she wandered down the street, entering Ronnie's Pet Palace on autopilot. There were aisles and aisles of pet foods, toys, and enclosures, racks filled with books on puppy training and magazines with pictures of exotic animals on the covers. She passed the large aviary, which was always her favorite, focusing on the little plastic containers on shelves on the back wall of the store. Betta fish. She had always imagined they must be very sad creatures, having to live all alone their whole lives. The only thing she could think of that could be worse than living alone for an entire lifetime would be living in a five inch plastic cup.

She scanned the rows of cups until one fish in particular caught her eye. She was purple and black, and rather menacing looking in Tori's mind. But she was also quite beautiful. In fact, she reminded Tori an awful lot of, well, Jade. She plucked the cup off of the shelf carefully, not wanting to jostle the fish inside, and brought her to the front counter.

"Can I leave her here for a minute?" Tori asked the clerk, a kind looking older woman. "I need to find some other things, but I don't want anyone else to buy her."

"Sure thing, sweetheart," the woman said.

Tori looked around quickly for what she would need, a bowl, fish food, and some pebbles for the bottom of the bowl. There were a few other items she thought she should purchase, but she decided she could come back another day. She didn't have a whole lot of money with her anyway.

She walked out of the store carrying her purchases rather awkwardly, almost walking smack into her sister.

"I was looking for you," Trina said, eying the items in Tori's hands. "But I wasn't even going to look in here. What were you doing?" But Tori didn't answer.

"Can you drive me to Jade's?" she asked Trina, hoping her sister would agree.

"But that's all the way across town..."

"Please?" Tori begged, biting her lip.

Trina sighed, not out of annoyance with her sister, but at the fact that her car was almost out of gas.

"I'll give you some gas money!" Tori said, as if she'd read Trina's mind. "Well... six dollars in gas money. But I can give you more later."

"Fine."

Once at Jade's house, Tori stood on the front steps for a minute or so, wondering what she should say. She hadn't even thought about it. It suddenly hit her that this might have been a very bad idea. Jade had just lost a pet. Maybe she didn't want another one. But Tori didn't back down, using her elbow to ring the doorbell as neither of her hands were free.

Jade answered the door moments later, raising her eyebrows at the sight before her.

"Can I come in?" Tori asked.

Jade stepped aside silently, letting Tori pass her into the kitchen where she gently placed the cup and bag on the table.

"What is that?" Jade asked, squinting. "Is that a fish?"

"Yes-"

"Tori..."

"Just listen," Tori said, putting her hands up in front of her. "You told me this morning that Bandit always kept your secrets," she began, picking up the cup and placing it in Jade's hands. "I know no pet will ever replace him, and a fish isn't the same as a dog... But maybe she can keep your secrets, too." She bit her lip as she observed Jade watch the fish wiggling around in the water. "I'm sure she wants out of that cup... maybe you two need each other."

"She's pretty," Jade said, her eyes never leaving the squirming creature.

"She reminded me of you," Tori said without thought, earning a rather puzzled expression from Jade.

"Tori," Jade said again, placing the cup back on the table.

"I'm sorry," Tori said quickly. "I'll take her home-"

"No, it's fine, she can stay." Jade stared at the floor in front of Tori's feet as she tried to think of what to say. "Thank you," she said finally, looking Tori in the eye and giving a slight smile. "This was really... sweet of you."

Tori pulled Jade into a hug, which Jade still wasn't entirely used to, but secretly liked nonetheless.

* * *

**Get it? Because fish and dogs are pets, and pets are companions? Okay, maybe I stretched this one a bit.**


	9. Move

__**It's come to my attention recently that chapters seven and eight are connected in certain places, with chapter eight referencing events that took place in chapter seven. So I'd like to take this opportunity to say that while there may be more occurrences like this, this is not one long story. I mentioned in chapter one that these drabbles (or one shots, as they seem to have become) wouldn't be following any real continuity, but I've decided that the events in each chapter will take place after the one before it. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

_Come over here now. I need to talk to you._

Tori waved to Trina as she pulled away from the curb, and reread the text from Jade again as she stood on Jade's front porch, hesitating to ring the doorbell.

_It must be really important_, Tori thought as she put her phone away and rang the bell, a sense of dread settling in the pit of her stomach, only worsened when she saw the look on Jade's face when she opened the door. Her eyes were rimmed with red and her cheeks blotchy. Tori knew immediately that she had been crying.

"Jade? What's wrong?"

"My father," Jade spat, pulling Tori inside and slamming the door.

"What about him?" Tori set her purse on the floor and sat at the kitchen table, watching Jade as she slowly sat down across from her. Her face contorted in anger, Jade forced herself to press on.

"He's moving to Sacramento," she shared, locking her gaze on Luna (the Betta fish Tori had gotten her just weeks before), swimming happily in her bowl in the center of the table. Jade wished she could switch places with her.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Tori said sadly. "That's terrible."

Jade laughed humorlessly, looking up at Tori.

"It gets worse. He wants me to go with him." She focused again on Luna, trying to stay strong. Crying was not something she wanted to do at the moment, even though she knew Tori would understand.

Tori.

Even though Jade was reluctant to admit it to herself, she knew she would miss Tori the most.

"Oh... that's not, uh, _that_ far," Tori said, trying to process the information she had just received.

"It's three hundred and eighty-four miles away. I'd say that's pretty far, Tori."

Tori hung her head, completely at a loss for words.

"Did you ask your dad if you could stay?" Tori asked after a few minutes in silence.

"I didn't get a chance." Jade paused. "Do you know how he told me? God, he didn't even say hello." Jade stood angrily, crossing her arms over her chest. "He said, 'I bought a place in Sacramento. Have your things packed by the end of the month. We're leaving then.' And then he just hung up on me! I didn't even get two words out." Hot tears prickled their way down her cheeks and she swiped at them angrily.

"Here," Tori said gently, handing Jade a Kleenex from the box on the counter.

"Thanks."

"Why not call him back?" Tori questioned, wondering why it hadn't occurred to Jade in the first place.

Jade sniffled.

"There's no point. He'll be here in a few minutes."

Tori wrinkled her brow.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" Jade shouted almost too quickly. "No. I want... I need you here." She shifted uncomfortably, embarrassed to admit that she needed Tori around to stay strong in front of her father. "I need you here to help me talk to him."

"But I don't even know him!" Tori exclaimed.

"Yes you do!"

"Jade, I met him once for like, ten seconds."

"So you won't stay?" Jade asked pitifully, putting her acting skills to great use.

Tori sighed.

"Fine, I'll stay."

It was nearly twenty minutes later when Jade's father finally arrived, making his presence known by simply walking into the house.

Jade greeted him at the door, Tori trailing behind her nervously.

"Dad." The word fell from Jade's lips like venom. "You remember Tori."

Her father, Michael, barely glanced in Tori's direction.

"Yes... I remember you. You were at Jade's play a couple years ago."

"Yep, that's me... sir," Tori confirmed awkwardly, almost regretting having added the sir.

"Honestly, Jade, I need to be in a meeting soon. Why couldn't you talk to me on the phone?" Michael asked, pulling his phone out of his jacket and checking the time.

"It's kind of hard to talk to someone on the phone when they've hung up," Jade retorted, wishing she could just say outright what she wanted to. _Please let me stay here_, she wanted to beg. _With people that actually give a shit about me_. But she turned to Tori, frowning. She willed her silently to step in and say what she couldn't.

"Um, Mister West?" Tori asked apprehensively, taking a few steps closer to him.

"Yes? What is it?" Michael urged, exasperated.

"Umm..." Tori began, but Jade found her voice.

"I want to stay here," Jade said firmly, daring her father to protest. "I don't want to change schools in the middle of the year, and I don't want to make new friends." She glanced quickly at Tori as she added the last part.

Michael sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

"You'll go to a real school," he promised. "A good one. And you'll make a new little group of friends. I don't have time for this nonsense right now, Jade. I need to go."

Just like that, and without another word, he was gone as quickly as he had come, the slam from the front door echoing through the house.

Jade stood unmoving, staring at where her father had been standing just moments before, as Tori turned to face her.

"Jade..." Hearing her name seemed to break the trance she was in, and Jade looked to Tori, her walls crumbling around her. She began to cry, letting Tori's arms wrap around her. There was a small part of her mind telling her to buck up, push Tori away and tell her to go home, but she couldn't do it. She realized that she didn't have to do it anymore, because Tori would never use the weakness against her. So she stood in her kitchen, arms around Tori's middle and her face in her shoulder, crying, letting Tori tell her that everything would be okay. Of course, she realized everything would in fact not be okay. But it comforted her for the time being, so she almost let herself believe it.

Once Jade had composed herself, breathing slowly through her mouth as her nose was red and stuffy, she once again adopted her tough facade.

"I guess I'll go start packing," she mumbled, starting towards her bedroom slowly, but turning when she heard Tori's voice.

"Do you want me to leave?" Tori's voice was soft as she gestured towards the door.

Jade was trembling when she realized that Tori leaving was in fact the last thing she wanted.

"No," she admitted with some difficulty. It was one thing to discover these things on her own, but another entirely to share them with Tori.

"Okay." Tori smiled reassuringly. "I won't. What would you like to do?"

"Right now? Run my father over with my truck."

"Jaaade," Tori chastised. "Violence is never the answer. Unless you're being attacked, and well... you're not."

Jade managed a slight chuckle, and Tori was relieved. She had noticed that Jade was quicker to smile around her lately, or laugh, and it made her happy. It wasn't that Tori thought she was bringing these things out in her, but rather Jade was becoming more comfortable around her, allowing her to see sides of her that most people didn't.

Jade sighed, the small smile on her lips fading.

"I don't really care. Let's just watch a movie or something."

So they did. Tori stayed with Jade until after dark, only thinking about leaving when her mother called her at nine o'clock, wondering when she'd be home.

"I can give you a ride if you want... So your sister doesn't have to come back out and get you." Jade toyed with the hem of her shirt, something Tori noticed she did a lot when offering her something.

"Only if you want to," Tori replied, gathering her things.

The truth was that Jade didn't want Tori to leave. She didn't want to be alone in an empty house while her mother worked late into the night. But she couldn't ask that of Tori. It wasn't her responsibility to keep her company. Though she knew Tori would agree eagerly, because that's the kind of person she was, she wasn't ready to let Tori know that she needed her. No, she couldn't ask Tori to stay the night, but she could give her a ride home, having just a few more minutes of company in the process.

"It's fine."

"Listen," Tori said when they were both in Jade's truck. "Your father could still change his mind." They hadn't spoken about the move since Michael had left Jade's house.

"He won't," Jade said simply, eyes glued to the road. "It's not like him."

"But-"

"Tori. He won't."

Jade had gone almost three hours without thinking about it, letting herself become completely involved in the plots of the two movies they had watched, studying each character and recognizing the actors' weak points. Jade considered herself to be a fairly decent actor, though she knew that wasn't what she wanted to do in life. Writing and directing were her strongest abilities, at least in her mind. She knew those would suit her much better than acting. But now, her father and the move were back to the forefront of her mind, much to her chagrin.

"I think he might," Tori reiterated.

Jade said nothing, though she still disagreed quite strongly.

"Thanks for the ride," Tori said when they approached her house.

"Mhm."

"Jade?"

"What?"

Tori hesitated.

"Call me if you need anything, okay?" Tori bit her lip as she closed the car door, saying good night to Jade through the open window.

Two weeks later on a Saturday, outside of Jade's, well, _former_ house, Tori and Cat gathered on the front lawn, waiting to for Jade and her father to come outside so they could say goodbye. Beck had gone to Canada to visit his grandparents, though he had wanted to postpone the trip and say goodbye to Jade before she left, and Andre and Robbie had said goodbye to her at school the day before. Cat ran up to Jade when she saw her exiting the house, tugging on her hand and pulling her towards Tori. Michael climbed into his car, watching his daughter from inside. The windows were cracked open the tiniest bit, and he could just hear what they were saying.

"Hi guys," Jade addressed them as she would any normal day. It was clear to Tori, who had seen Jade break down just two weeks prior, and could once again see the red around Jade's eyes, that she was acting, and acting well.

Cat sniffled, throwing her arms round Jade's middle and hugging her tightly.

"I'm gonna miss you Jade," she said. "Who am I going to stay with when my parents take my brother out of the city now?"

Jade awkwardly stroked Cat's back.

"You'll just have to go with them," Jade said simply, knowing that wouldn't be the case.

"But Jade-"

"You'll be fine, Cat. You're a big girl."

Jade turned to Tori, multiple emotions beginning to build up inside of her.

"I'm glad we got to be friends before you left," Tori said, trying to break the ice.

"Me too." Jade chewed on her lip, wishing she'd at least thought about what to say. "Tori... you're really..." She sighed, feeling like the words she was trying to say were choking her. "I really wish I'd been your friend sooner. I'm really going to miss you." It felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders when she finally got the words out. She quickly hugged Cat once more, almost having to pry herself out of the girl's death grip. Once free, she hugged Tori as well, whispering, "Thanks for everything."

Jade pulled away, adjusted her top and turned quickly from them, not wanting them to see the tears in her eyes. Michael watched her closely as she entered the car, trying to wipe her face quickly before he noticed she had been crying.

"Just drive," she said bitterly, not noticing her father look from her, to her friends, and back again.

"Jade-"

"What?" She inquired lifelessly. It was so unlike the Jade Michael knew and loved, though his daughter had never thought he had. Perhaps her mind might change one day.

"Get out of the car, grab your things, and go inside," he ordered firmly.

Jade looked at him, puzzled. Surely she heard him wrong.

"What?"

"You heard me," Michael said, unlocking the doors to let her out. He stared her down until she complied, her hand reaching for the handle. "I'll call your school," he said, starting the car. "You'll be all set to go back on Monday." He waited until she was on the sidewalk, bags on the ground beside her before driving away without another word. Jade stared after him, completely stunned.

"Jade!" Cat called, rushing over to her. "Does this mean you're not leaving?" she asked, wide eyed.

"I guess so," was all Jade answered, still watching the spot where her father's car had disappeared.

"Yay!" Cat hugged her again, grinning wildly.

"That's great!" Tori exclaimed, smiling too, but more for Cat's benefit than Jade's. She knew Jade would be happy to be staying, but she was going to have some conflicting feelings about her father for a little while.

Jade shook herself mentally, finding herself once again locked in Cat's embrace.

"God, Cat, let me breathe," she said with humor in her voice, smiling at Cat when she was let go. Tori wanted to hug Jade, too, but stood back, wanting to give Jade some space.

To say that Tori was surprised when Jade hugged her was an understatement.

* * *

**Did anyone else hear that rumor that was going around a little while ago that there would be an episode called "Jade Moves Away"? Hm. Well, I don't know if that's true or not, but if it is, I'd really love it if it were handled this way.**


	10. Silver

Tori panted hard as she ran toward the sound of Jade's screams for help, her legs burning with every step. She was stuck in a seemingly endless hallway with doors on both sides of her, frantically searching for Jade. She was being hurt, Tori knew that for certain, and she had to find her quickly.

Tori kicked open another door, nothing. Another empty room. She paused for a moment, hunched over and holding onto her knees to catch her breath. And then in an instant, all was silent. A chill crept up Tori's spine, and her palms broke out in a sweat. She listened closely for any sound, but there was nothing, just her own pulse pounding in her ears. Slowly, she reached out to open the next door, and her mouth fell open in horror.

There was Jade, lying on the floor in a pool of her own blood, a sleek silver knife jutting from her chest. Tori couldn't make a sound as she approached her, touching Jade's arm gently, hoping maybe it was a trick of her imagination.

The moment Tori made contact with Jade's cold and sickly pale flesh, she felt a hand clasp over her mouth, and she screamed, her eyes snapping open.

Tori sat up in bed like a flash, out of breath and covered in sweat. A sharp stinging in the back of her throat told her that she had screamed herself awake. But why? And then the events of her dream (nightmare, really) came flooding back to her, her breath hitching in her throat.

Moments later, Trina padded quietly into Tori's room, her brow furrowed with worry.

"Tori? Are you alright?"

Tori turned to look at her sister, nodding fast and swallowing hard.

"I'm uh, I'm fine... I just had a bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Trina asked, concerned. Tori's face was almost completely drained of color, and she appeared to be trembling.

"No, thanks. I just want to go back to sleep." She smiled faintly.

"Alright... Night, love you," Trina said, leaving the room and closing the door quietly behind her.

It was 3:30 in the morning, much too early to make a phone call, but Tori reached for her phone as soon as Trina was gone, needing to reassure herself that Jade was safe. She knew that it had only been a dream, but it had felt so real. She was terrified.

"Come on, come on," Tori muttered to herself as she waited for Jade to pick up.

"Hello?" Jade answered sleepily on the sixth ring, trying hard not to get annoyed. She had seen Tori's name flashing on the screen which had worried her; she knew Tori would only call in the middle of the night if it were an emergency.

"Oh thank God," Tori breathed, relief flooding through her.

Jade was instantly wide awake, sitting up and brushing her hair off of her face.

"Tori? What's going on?" She tried not to let it show in her voice how worried she was.

"I just... I had a bad dream..." Tori trailed off, wondering if it would be a bad idea to tell Jade that she had seen her dead. She decided it would be, so she stayed quiet.

"And? What does it have to do with me?"

"What? It doesn't..." Tori stammered, but Jade knew she was lying.

"If it didn't, you wouldn't have called me at," she checked the time on the clock beside her bed, "three in the morning. Out with it."

Tori sighed in defeat.

"You were hurt, alright? Don't make me say anything else, please... I needed to make sure you were okay."

Jade smiled slightly to herself, touched that Tori had been so worried.

"Well, I'm fine, okay? Don't worry about it. It was only a dream," Jade reassured Tori.

"I know," Tori said, tapping her fingers against the mattress in anxiety. "But I'm afraid to go back to sleep..."

Jade thought for a moment, wracking her brain for a way she could help.

"Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?" Jade asked awkwardly, even blushing slightly, though she didn't know why. Things had been so comfortable between her and Tori as of late, and as much as that made her happy, it also scared her. But she pushed the fear away, keeping herself in the moment.

"Yes, please," Tori pleaded timidly, settling back under the covers.

It wasn't too long before the soft sound of Jade's breathing lulled Tori to sleep.

* * *

**So this one is short and kind of a stretch for the word silver, but the idea wouldn't leave me alone. Let me know if you think I should change the rating? There was only mention of stabbing... and blood, but I don't know what my demographic is here. **


	11. Prepared

_Crash__!_

Jade's head snapped up at the sound of shattering glass, the DVD case in her hands discarded on the floor and forgotten as she rose and began walking in the direction from which she had heard the sound. She walked into the kitchen carefully as she was barefoot, pursing her lips in amusement as she watched Tori trying feverishly to pick up shards of a broken vase. Tori was carefully brushing the glittering splinters into a pile, separating them from the larger pieces that could be picked up by hand.

"You're gonna cut yourself," Jade warned, finally catching Tori's attention.

"Jade! I uh, knocked this over... I'm sorry. How much was it? I'll pay for it-"

Jade laughed, looking quite satisfied.

"Don't worry about it. I've always hated that thing. My mom will never notice." Jade smiled as Tori resumed cleaning, having collected nearly all the large pieces of glass in a plate. She picked up the final piece and gasped in pain, cursing under her breath. In moments, a slow stream of blood was flowing warmly into her palm. Jade rolled her eyes in mock annoyance, but smirked, gesturing for Tori to follow her into the bathroom.

"Can't take you anywhere, can I?" Jade asked over her shoulder as she lead the way down the hall, earning a glare from Tori.

"Sit," Jade instructed when they were in the bathroom, waiting until Tori jumped up on the bathroom counter to start rummaging through a cabinet. She pulled out a small zippered bag and emptied the contents onto the counter. She put her hand out for Tori's, her breath hitching ever so slightly when their skin made contact.

Tori's hands were soft and warm, and Jade couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to actually hold. She had done so before, of course, for plays and performances, but she had never given it much thought. It hadn't meant anything to her back then. That observation made her wonder, why did it mean something now? Why did she suddenly find herself craving that contact? She swallowed hard, not wanting to linger on what she had been trying to push out of her mind for weeks. Months, even.

Using a wet cloth, Jade carefully cleaned Tori's flesh of all traces of blood, making sure to be extra careful over the actual cut. She ran a cotton swab soaked with alcohol over the slit on Tori's finger.

"It doesn't look deep," Jade observed, running a finger delicately along the skin just next to the cut. "You just might live."

"Ha ha," laughed Tori dryly. Her heart was beating faster than usual, surely because of the trauma she had just been through, she tried to convince herself, though she knew it was from the sensation of Jade's hand cradling her own.

Jade took a band-aid from the counter, wrapping it gently around Tori's finger. When she realized Tori's hand was still in her own, though there was no need for it to be, she dropped it, her cheeks turning the slightest bit pink. Tori, of course, being in such close proximity, noticed at once, a blush creeping into her own cheeks.

"So, uh, you wanna go watch that movie?" Jade asked as she swept everything back into the bag. She couldn't bring herself to look Tori in the eye. She was embarrassed.

"Sure," Tori replied, hopping off the counter and trailing Jade out of the room.

"Oh, the glass..." Tori began, but Jade silenced her with a wave of her hand.

"I'll get it."

Jade disappeared into the kitchen and Tori sat on the edge of the sofa uncomfortably. She felt bad that Jade had to clean up a mess that she had made. She twirled a piece of her hair absently as her mind wandered back to what had happened in the bathroom. Her reaction to Jade's touch had startled her; she hadn't wanted her to let go! It was so confusing.

Tori didn't have much time to think about it though, because at that moment Jade returned and popped the DVD into the player. It was a scary movie, of course, but she had picked it out specifically with Tori in mind, hoping it wouldn't be _too _scary. It was, after all, her idea for Tori to come over in the first place. Jade's mother was out of town on a business trip, and as tough as Jade acted, she hated being home alone during the night. So she had brought it up to Tori at school earlier that day, awkwardly asking her if she would like to spend the night.

"So, about how many people die in this movie?" Tori asked, bracing herself for the oncoming gore-fest.

"Oh, just five," Jade smirked, chuckling when she noticed gulp.

It was almost thirty minutes into the movie when the first character died as bloody a death as Tori could imagine, and she shrieked in terror as the second character was taken out almost immediately after the first. Only moments after catching her breath did Tori realize she was clinging tightly to Jade's arm, her face buried in Jade's shoulder. Tori looked up sheepishly, her face growing hot.

"You alright there?" Jade questioned, pausing the movie with her free hand and trying to suppress a laugh. Tori's reaction to the two least shocking deaths in the whole movie was comical.

"Um, yeah," Tori managed, pulling herself away from Jade and pulling her hair up into a messy bun. She needed to cool off. "I just got a little scared, that's all."

Jade regarded Tori for a moment before shutting off the movie all together.

"Let's watch something else," she said, sliding onto the floor to put the scary movie away. It seemed suddenly unfair to make Tori sit through something that bothered her so.

"No, I'm fine, leave it-" But Jade just turned and stared Tori down, smiling when Tori shrugged in defeat. She chose one of her mom's romantic comedies, something lighthearted and mushy. Wondering how on earth she could possibly be her mother's daughter, she settled back into her spot on the sofa, smiling at Tori and pointing at the screen.

"See? I can watch these too," Jade lied. She hated romantic comedies. She hated the predictability, the cheesy acting (though she had to admit, there was some pretty cheesy acting in the movies she liked as well), and the general mushiness of it all. But they didn't make her nearly as uncomfortable as scary movies made Tori, so she sucked it up, smiling to herself when she heard Tori laughing at the corniest pickup line she had ever heard. And as the movie played, Jade found herself laughing as well, deciding these types of movies weren't so bad, as long as you watched them with the right people.

* * *

**I've decided that this set of one shots takes place in the same fictional universe as Faults in Stone, my set of one-shots that focus mainly on Cat and Jade's friendship. So there may be some references to that set in this one, but nothing so big you'd absolutely _have _to read them. This chapter too may have been a bit of a stretch for the word prompt (get it, Tori got hurt and Jade just happened to have band-aids and things at the ready? Preparation at it's finest~), and it just so happens to be the exact same plot I used for a Fringe one shot (except that one had smut and this one does not), but hey. **

**Thanks for reading! And thanks to everyone who has reviewed and left me positive feedback and constructive criticism. You're all so appreciated. **


	12. Denial

Jade's phone rang at exactly three in the morning, waking her from a deep sleep. She squinted, trying to make out the name on the screen. It was Tori.

"Hello?" Jade answered sleepily, but there was no reply. "Tori, are you okay?"

"Can you come over?" Tori pleaded, her voice weak, and it was then that Jade realized that Tori was crying.

Jade threw the covers off of herself and sat up.

"I'll be there soon," she assured, not having to think twice. "What's going on?"

Tori sniffed, trying to sound stronger than she felt.

"I need you."

"Tori..." Jade's chest tightened. "I'll be there soon, okay?"

"Okay."

Jade hung up the phone and pulled on her boots, not bothering to change out of her pajamas. She pocketed her phone and grabbed her car keys off of her dresser.

She got to Tori's house in no time, and when she arrived, she sent Tori a text message to let her know she was there. Her foot tapped impatiently as she waited for Tori to let her inside. Worry spread like roots through her with every passing second; she didn't think she had ever actually heard Tori cry before. Something really bad had happened, she just knew it.

Tori crept down the stairs, careful not to wake her father who was asleep on the sofa. Flinging open the door, she was immediately flooded with relief at the site of Jade. She motioned for Jade to come inside, and follow her upstairs.

Jade perched on the edge of Tori's bed, waiting silently for Tori to speak. She wanted to prompt her, but decided it would be better to let Tori speak when she was ready.

Tori was a mess inside. She knew exactly what she wanted to say, and that she wanted nothing more than to curl up next to Jade and just cry, but she didn't want to make it real. She knew that as soon as the words left her mouth, there would be no more denying the truth. She sat next to Jade and squeezed her eyes shut tightly, taking a deep breath.

"My parents are splitting up." Tori's face crumpled and she began crying once again.

Jade sucked in a breath sharply, sliding closer to Tori. She hesitated, but put an arm around Tori's shoulders anyway.

"She cheated on him," Tori continued, but she was mostly speaking to herself, trying to make herself believe it. "She cheated on him, and now she's moving out..."

"Tori..."

Jade was unsure what to say. She thought perhaps simply _being_ there was all she could do, but that need to make Tori feel better came over her once again, and she wracked her brain for something to say.

Tori unconsciously turned towards Jade, who pulled her into a proper hug. Burying her face in Jade's shoulder, Tori cried, releasing all of the anger and despair that had built up inside of her. Having Jade with her was comforting. She realized then that she hadn't called Jade simply because she needed someone to talk to, but because she wanted Jade, who at that moment was rubbing Tori's back comfortingly.

"It's going to be okay," Jade said softly, shifting so she was leaning against Tori's headboard, Tori nestled beside her.

"It's not." Tori sniffed and looked up at Jade with red, puffy eyes. "Everything's gonna be different now."

Jade shrugged in agreement.

"True. But hey, think of it this way." She looked down at Tori and squeezed her gently. "Now you'll get to have two Christmases, two birthday parties... two birthweeks for Trina. Ugh." But Tori chuckled, lifting a hand to wipe her face.

"I won't have my mom and dad though," Tori sighed, resting her head on Jade's shoulder once more. "Not really."

"Well, I don't either. Look how I turned out."

Tori chuckled and poked Jade's stomach teasingly.

"Hm, yeah, bad example," Jade conceded. "But the point is, you're Tori. You're strong, determined...you don't let anything knock you down." Jade realized she was listing qualities of Tori's that she admired. She cleared her throat. "You're going to be fine, I know you will."

Tori looked up at Jade again and something in her clicked. Her breath hitched, and her eyes fell on Jade's lips. She was suddenly filled with the desire to kiss Jade, which two weeks ago would have terrified her, but now it felt _right._ She was almost certain Jade felt it too - she could see Jade's eyes fixed intently on hers and feel her breathing change pace. Tori tilted her head upward, and moved forward slowly, giving Jade time to push her away if she wanted to. But Jade didn't push Tori away. She leaned in closer until their lips finally met in the gentlest of kisses.

Tori pulled away a few moments later, slightly out of breath and smiling. Once she had kissed Jade, she realized that she had wanted to do so for far longer than she had thought.

"It's about time," murmured Jade. "I thought I was the only one who... wanted to do that."

Tori giggled, but then she remembered why Jade was there in the first place, and she felt her heart break again.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" she asked Jade innocently, not wanting to be alone.

"Of course," Jade agreed, kicking off her boots and letting them fall to the floor.

* * *

**Eeeee! They finally kissed! I've been waiting for this to happen for a while now, but I made myself wait so it wouldn't seem too rushed.**

**In case it wasn't clear, denial refers to Tori's unwillingness to believe her mom cheated on her dad, which, by the way, seems totally canon after Crazy Ponnie.**


	13. Knowledge

**Hi, I'm Carrie, and it has been sixty six days since I last posted something. I've had terrible separation anxiety from this fic, let me just tell you. But hopefully I'm back and can get a good rhythm going again. Enjoy!**

* * *

"So what does this mean?" Tori asked Jade that afternoon as she and Jade sat at Tori's kitchen table for a late breakfast of toast and fruit salad. "What do _we_ mean?"

Jade gnawed on the inside of her cheek as she thought. She and Tori had kissed the night before, fallen asleep together, and woken up in each other's arms. She wasn't quite sure _what_ that meant, if she were to be completely honest with herself. She exhaled softly as she searched for the right words.

"It means that you have feelings for me, and I have feelings for you. And now we have to decide what we want to do about that."

Tori hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

"I want _you_," she said softly, reaching out to place a hand on Jade's, but then thought against it, letting her hand fall flat on the table instead.

Jade smiled then, the corners of her eyes crinkling the way Tori had always loved.

"So does this mean we're like, girlfriends?" Tori asked, playing with the string of her tea bag.

"If you want to be... I do." Jade said, adding the last part quietly, her gaze falling on the table. There was a nervous excitement flowing through her, and she felt like her heart was going to beat right out of her chest. She looked to Tori for an answer.

Tori nodded and touched Jade's hand in confirmation, grinning from ear to ear.

_I have a girlfriend_, Tori thought, a certain feeling spreading through her that she couldn't quite name. It was slightly strange to think of Jade as her girlfriend, as they hadn't even really been friends for that long. She decided that that was due to the fact that this new development was so sudden, and so unexpected. Months ago, all she had wanted was Jade's friendship, and now she was getting so much more.

"So," Jade said, taking a sip of her coffee. "Tell me things."

Tori narrowed her eyes playfully.

"What kind of things?"

"Stuff about you. Little things."

Tori immediately forgot everything about herself, wracking her brain frantically for something Jade didn't already know.

"Uh, okay...I always smell my books when I pick them up to read. And I love the smell of crayons. I love the days here when it's really cold. Well, cold for LA." She paused, pursing her lips as she thought of something else. "I throw up everytime I go on a rollercoaster..." she divulged, and Jade chuckled.

"Alright then, tell me stuff about _you_ now," pushed Tori, crossing her arms over her chest and pretending to be insulted by Jade's laughter.

"I've only ever watched romantic comedies with you and Cat... With Cat because besides a few Disney movies, they're the only kinds she likes and she stays with me a lot... and with you because I like watching you watch them. They make you happy. Or at least it seems that way." Jade tried hard to think of a good one. "When I thought I was leaving to go live with my dad, I knew I was going to miss you the most. I just didn't know how to explain that to you."

Tori smiled sadly, squeezing Jade's hand, and Jade kicked her lightly under the table as if to say, _your turn_.

"I tried to watch The Scissoring once... I almost peed myself," Tori admitted, much to Jade's amusement. "Well, tell me something embarrassing about yourself then!" Tori demanded through Jade's laughter.

"Ah... alright. I fell down the stairs my first day at Hollywood Arts. Fell flat on my face, right in front of everybody."

"Ouch," Tori muttered, her eyebrows knitting together in concern.

Jade simply shrugged.

"Shit happens. So, how far into The Scissoring did you get?" She smiled devilishly, hoping she'd be able to persuade Tori to watch the rest of it with her.

"Sister loaf," Tori said, wrinkling her nose in disgust, and Jade just laughed again.

"Yeah, that part's pretty gross," Jade admitted. She watched Tori as she stirred more sugar into her tea. She was so _pretty, _even with her hair still messed up from sleeping, and her eyes puffy from all the crying. Jade smiled as Tori looked back to her.

"What?" Tori asked, slightly puzzled.

"You're pretty," Jade said simply, and she realized how easy it came out of her mouth compared to the last time she had said it.

Tori blushed and tucked her hair behind her ears.

"So are you."

Now it was Jade's turn to blush, but she didn't want Tori to see. So she leaned across the table and kissed Tori for the second time.

* * *

**Hey I'm sorry it's so short but I really needed to get something finished and posted. I had planned out like, three different plots for this chapter and this is the one that managed to stick. Thanks for all your subscriptions and reviews; they really do mean a lot to me! Hope you're all well!**


	14. Wind

**Hi! Hope you're all well!**

* * *

"Oh my god, Jade, look!" Tori pointed across the water at something, but Jade didn't look. In her excitement, Tori had shaken the ferris wheel car, and Jade felt like she was going to throw up. The wind picked up suddenly, whipping her hair around her face. It was too much. She peeked over the edge of the car and her stomach lurched.

It was a Saturday evening and they were on their first official date at the Santa Monica Pier. They had driven over that afternoon, holding hands over the center console.

"Are you alright?" Tori asked, concerned. Jade's eyes were squeezed shut, and she gripped the seat tightly. Her face was paler than usual.

"I can't open my eyes," she muttered quickly.

"What?"

"I can't open my eyes!" It came out much harsher than she intended it to.

It suddenly hit Tori that Jade was scared. She reached out and put her arm around Jade's waist and pulled her close, resting her chin on Jade's shoulder.

"Is there anything I can do?" Tori asked.

"Distract me."

Tori started humming the song she'd been writing for a class assignment. As she hummed, she felt Jade lean into her.

"Ohhh god," Jade murmured as the ferris wheel began moving again.

"It's okay, we're going down now." Tori stroked Jade's hair and resumed humming.

In what seemed like forever (at least for Jade), they were finally at the bottom of the ferris wheel. When the man operating the ride lifted the bar for them to get out, Jade jumped up and was gone in a flash before Tori was even able to stand. She thanked the man and started in the direction she had seen Jade go.

"Hey," Tori said quietly when she found Jade by some soda machines.

"That was humiliating," Jade said, not looking up. She couldn't help thinking that Tori would think less of her for being scared, even though she knew Tori wasn't like that.

"Why didn't you tell me you were scared? We could have done something else." Tori frowned. She was the one who had suggested they go on the ferris wheel, and when she thought back on it, Jade had grimaced before agreeing. Since when did Jade do anything she didn't want to?

"You were so excited," Jade replied, looking up for the first time. "It was cute," she added with a smile. "I thought I'd be alright if I was with you, but..."

Tori shook her head.

"Next time you don't want to do something just tell me," she said. "And don't feel like you've gotta do something just because I want to."

Jade nodded and reached for Tori's hand.

"Thanks for helping me back there. If I'd been alone I would've started freaking out."

Tori nodded and squeezed Jade's hand.

"You wanna go home? We've been here for hours. We can go to my house and watch a movie, and order pizza or something," Tori suggested, hoping Jade would want to go home with her.

"Yeah, but make it my house. Your couch is uncomfortable." Jade agreed, smiling, her mind involuntarily flashing back to a time when that idea would make her want to vomit. But now she wanted nothing more than to curl up on the sofa with Tori's head in her lap.

An hour and a half later found them in Jade's living room, a box of pizza discarded on the coffee table, and Tori resting her head on Jade's shoulder, ready to shield her eyes if need be. Tori, much to Jade's surprise, had suggested they watch The Scissoring, Jade's favorite horror movie. Jade had originally said no, that she didn't want to make Tori watch something that would most likely traumatize her, but Tori had insisted.

Now the movie was almost finished, and Tori had made it through most of it, only hiding hiding her eyes a few times. The final scene played: Tawny Walker Black was burying her friends in a church cemetery, laughing maniacally as she covered their bodies with dirt. The credits began rolling and Tori straightened up.

"That actually wasn't so bad," Tori said unconvincingly, eyes still focused on the TV screen.

"Mhm," Jade agreed. "Call me when you have a nightmare tonight, okay?"

"... Okay."

Jade leaned over and kissed Tori's cheek.

* * *

**I'm sorry it's so short but I've been trying to get back in the swing of things. Updates should be longer over the next few chapters! Thanks for reading.**


	15. Halcyon

**Hey there! Long time no update. Ah, I'm sorry! The Holiday laziness kicked in, and I just wasn't getting anything done. Anyway, the word for this chapter was originally supposed to be "order", but that's a pretty boring and basic word and I couldn't think of anything for it. So I asked a friend to replace it and he gave me the word "halcyon". That's why (at least to me) this chapter title seems to stick out from the others. Ah, I'm rambling. Proceed!**

* * *

_Halcyon: peaceful, gentle, calm; a period of peace and happiness_

"So," Jade said, curling her legs around Tori's. "Does your dad even know I've been here?"

Tori held Jade close and pulled the blankets around them snugly. It was a Sunday afternoon and they were in Tori's bed watching movies, which they had been doing since the Friday afternoon before. Jade had been spending the night, unbeknownst to Tori's father.

"No," Tori finally responded. Her father had barely been home that weekend, or for many weekends before, for that matter. Tori tried not to be upset; she knew her father was working hard to support her and her sister, even harder than usual now that her mother was out of the picture. But still, she missed him.

"I don't want to think about my dad right now," she said, turning her head and kissing Jade's cheek.

"And I don't want to go to school tomorrow," Jade sighed, pulling Tori closer to her. "I could stay like this forever." She thought for a moment. "Let's skip."

Tori considered it. Spending another day in bed with her girlfriend sounded much more appealing than going to school.

"Okay," Tori agreed with a nervous chuckle. Truthfully, she hadn't skipped a day of school in her life, and the idea of doing something so _wrong _gave her a certain thrill.

The next morning Tori woke up with Jade's breath tickling her neck. She smiled sleepily, running a hand through Jade's hair to wake her up.

"What time issit?" Jade mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut to block out the sunlight.

"It iiiiis," Tori sat up and reached for her phone on the bedside table, "nine thirty... should I have let you sleep longer?"

"No, it's fine." Jade's words were still slurred, but she sat up and rubbed her eyes, finally opening them. "What do you wanna do today?"

Tori kissed her in response, and Jade laughed as they pulled apart. "Sounds like a good plan." Jade's voice was gravelly from sleep, her hair tousled, and her cheek marked with sleep creases, and Tori thought she was the most beautiful girl she'd ever seen.

"What are you looking at?" Jade asked playfully, and Tori just shrugged, leaning forward and kissing Jade once more.

"Most beautiful girl I've ever seen," Tori said, speaking her thoughts aloud.

"Oh god, how corny," Jade teased, but she blushed, knowing Tori truly thought that of her.

"I'm going to take a shower," Tori said. She bit her lip in thought. She wanted to say something so badly, but was unsure if it was the right time. She spoke before she could let herself chicken out. "Do you...want to join me?"

Jade raised her eyebrows, unsure if she'd heard Tori correctly.

"What?"

Tori shrugged, running her hand over the bedspread.

"I asked if you wanted to shower with me," she said quietly, regretting it more with each passing second.

"Okay," Jade said, surprising both Tori and herself.

"Okay?"

"Yeah." Jade smiled a flirty smile and followed Tori out of bed.

They walked together across Tori's bedroom into the adjoining bathroom, both of them filled with butterflies. They were anxious, but in a good way. What they were doing didn't feel rushed or awkward, it just felt right. Tori started the shower, the hot water making ribbons of steam in the otherwise chilly room.

* * *

Tori and Jade stepped out of the bathroom, each wrapped in a fluffy blue towel. Jade's skin was flushed red from the hot water, and from a certain heat creeping through her body. Nothing major had happened in the shower exactly, but major steps in their relationship had definitely been taken. They'd seen each other naked for the first time, and let the other kiss and touch them in places and in ways that were brand new.

Tori dropped her towel on the floor, no longer self conscious of Jade seeing her naked. Jade did the same, suddenly missing Tori's hands on her body. She stood in front of Tori and placed a hand on her girlfriend's hip, cocking her head to the side, asking Tori if it was okay. Tori swallowed and nodded, and Jade pulled her closer until their bodies were almost touching. Jade leaned forward and kissed Tori softly, her other hand resting on the small of Tori's back. Tori melted into Jade's touch, twisting her own hands in Jade's long hair.

They stumbled over to Tori's bed, hands roaming over each other's bodies clumsily, desperate to touch everywhere at once.

* * *

**So, what did you think? Major development in their relationship, right? ****I hope I did their characters justice, and kept it in their voices.**

**Oh, PS, I might someday write an extended version of this chapter (you know, with all the smutty goodness no longer allowed on here) and post it on my tumblr, or freetexthost. I'll let you all know in an author note on a future chapter. **

**Oh, before I forget, and even though it's a month late, I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season no matter what it is you celebrate (or if you don't celebrate anything, that's cool too), and I hope you're all keeping warm/cool depending on your climate.**

**xo,**

**Carrie**


	16. Notes

**While writing this I realized I didn't know if California schools have a February vacation, so, if they don't, pretend they do. This takes place the Monday after their vacation ends.**

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_I'm so bored. -J_

_Me too. Let's have lunch in the janitor's closet today. -T_

_At school Tori? I didn't think you'd be up for that. -J_

_That's not what I meant and you know it. I just miss you. -T_

_I'm sitting right behind you. -J_

_But I can't touch you or kiss you... -T_

_Oh, so you _do _want to touch me in the janitor's closet? -J_

_You know what I mean. :p -T_

_I know. I miss you too. It's a date. :) -J_

Tori smiled and folded up the piece of paper she and Jade had been passing back and forth, tucking it into her binder. They were in math class; it was both of their least favorite classes, though for different reasons. Jade was brilliant with numbers but didn't care for them, while Tori had struggled with every math problem since the seventh grade.

The bell rang signaling the end of class, and Tori leapt up from her seat quickly. The next period was lunch, and she was eager to finally spend some alone time with Jade. She hurried to her locker, and as she put her books away, she noticed Jade glance at her and smile from across the hallway. They busied themselves in their lockers, rearranging books and papers until the other students in the hallway filed outside or into classrooms. Jade jogged over to Tori and they joined hands, slipping into the closet.

Once inside, Tori gently pushed Jade against the door and kissed her.

"I've wanted to do that all day," Tori sighed, her cheeks flushed. "A week away from you was too long." She and Trina, along with their father, had gone to visit her grandmother over February vacation. Tori reached up and tucked a strand of Jade's hair behind her ear.

Jade slid down onto the floor, pulling Tori with her. She rested her head on Tori's shoulder.

"I think Cat knows about us," Jade said suddenly, bracing herself. She was sure Tori would be upset, but Tori just shrugged and twirled her fingers through Jade's hair.

"That's okay," Tori said. She wasn't worried. If Cat did know anything, she hadn't said so, and it didn't appear that she had told anyone. "How do you think she found out?"

Jade exhaled sharply.

"Well, she and I were hanging out last Thursday, and I sort of... Let it slip that I missed you. And I got upset. And she made me crawl under her bed with her because 'it always makes her feel better,'" Jade explained, and Tori laughed.

"The mental image of you trying to get out from under a bed is priceless." Tori wiped her eyes. "So you think she's onto us?"

Jade shrugged.

"Maybe."

"Well, I don't care if you don't," Tori said, capturing Jade's lips with her own once more.

"Did I ever tell you you're a really great kisser?" Jade asked.

Tori smiled.

"Yes, actually. But I don't mind hearing it again."

* * *

**I'm sorry it's so short! But these were originally intended to be drabbles, so I don't feel too bad. :p But it does set up the next chapter of _Faults _(my Cat and Jade friendship story), which hasn't been updated in ages.  
**

**I don't know how many of you actually read these author notes, but I hope you're all well.**

**xo**


	17. Yellow

**This is definitely more of a drabble than a full chapter, which I apologize for... But I felt ****_really _****bad for not having posted anything for so long, so I wanted to get a little something posted. Enjoy!**

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"Look, it's right there, can't you see?" Jade pointed to a group of stars, trying to get Tori to see the Little Dipper.

Tori frowned.

"I don't see it..."

"Ohh forget it," Jade said playfully. She dropped her hand back to her side and placed it in Tori's.

"Sorry," Tori said and Jade waved her hand in dismissal. "I'm cold."

Jade opened her arms for Tori, who cuddled up as close to her girlfriend as she could, tucking her face into the crook of Jade's neck.

"You're prettier, you know. Than the stars," Jade whispered, and Tori blushed.

"Oh stahhp," Tori laughed, and Jade simply kissed the top of her head.

Tori snuggled even closer to Jade and sighed contentedly. She sometimes still could not believe that the girl who had antagonized her for so long ended up being someone that she, well, loved. She smiled and felt her heart swell.

"I love you, Jade."

Jade smiled up at the sky; the stars seemed to be shining just a little bit brighter.

"I love you too," Jade said, and she had never been more sure of anything.

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**Thanks for reading! I hope you're all well.**


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